


The Bargain

by Rin_the_Depraved



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), Vox Machina - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26276902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_the_Depraved/pseuds/Rin_the_Depraved
Summary: Vox Machina is running out of time to save the world, and makes a deal with Artagan to change their fate. Unfortunately, Vax has drawn the short straw, and has to make a sacrifice as part of his group's side of the bargain.
Kudos: 16





	The Bargain

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like this scene was rushed and just wanted to spend a few more moments on it. :) Hopefully there aren't too many inaccuracies, I've only watched campaign 1 once. Enjoy.

“I wish to strangle you ‘till death.”   
The group immediately erupted in a cacophony of sound. Grog immediately burst out laughing, towering cries of “Amazing. Amazing!” cutting through his booming cackles of surprise. Scanlan was shouting something about “...erotic asphyxiation?!” but most of his words were lost beneath the goliath’s laughter. The women all seemed to be in various states of shock.   
“Wait, wait, Grog, I’m sorry,” Vax said, trying to make sure he had heard the orange-haired fey correctly. “Come again?”   
Artagan’s face lit up, a mischievous twinkle dancing across his eyes as he focused on Vax. “I wish… to put my hands on your throat until you expire,” he reiterated clearly. “If you say you’re unkillable, well… that’s a new experience entirely.”   
“Okay, okay… okay,” Vax stumbled, trying to organize his thoughts. Yes, he’d heard correctly. But what was he supposed to do with that information?  
“Will you come back?” his sister Vex was asking. “I mean… have we… tested this?”   
“Vex, be quiet,” interjected Grog. Vax felt like there was too much enthusiasm rolling off the goliath. They had not tested his new “immortality,” but the Raven Queen had made the terms of their deal quite clear. If he was going to go through with this, he needed to make sure it was worth it.  
“I have one, uh, further request on our end. Can you send us backward in time?”  
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way,” Artagan told them, and Vax growled with displeasure. “But I can give the mere passage of an hour, day for an hour, I think it’s a fair trade.”  
Keyleth was asking if they would truly get a full day, to ensure his return. Vax could hear the panic building in her voice. What had he gotten himself into?  
“I’m kind of unkillable… for a while,” he’d told the fey. Artagan’s focus immediately shifted solely on him, it was unnerving how intense his gaze was, a plan already brewing in the fey’s mind. “That’s fun,” he’d said in response, followed by an “Oh no” from Scanlan. Oh no, indeed.   
“Can I ask one question first?” Scanlan was asking. “Will you be pleasuring yourself?” A few uncomfortable chuckles reverberated through the group, but Artagan actually laughed.   
“I think the process will be… enjoyable enough.”   
The conversation drifted as the various members of the group set about clearing up the terms of their new arrangement and getting various other minor chores out of the way. Vax noticed how none of them asked if he wanted to go through with this, if he was okay with it. He asked himself if he was willing to be strangled for a day’s worth of rest.   
Before, he had been afraid to die, to leave his friends, to be the source of their heartbreak. And while he felt sadness, knowing that his time on Exandria had a fixed end point in the future, he wasn’t afraid to die. Not anymore. Something about the promise the Raven Queen made to him had wiped away that fear, and he was fully confident that she would return him. For a moment he felt guilty about using her power in such a trivial way, but he brushed it aside. There hadn’t been conditions.   
Vax looked around at the group, at his friends. He realized that yes, he was okay with this. But they were going to do it on his terms. He’d set out a few terms, make sure most of them left. He couldn’t make Pike watch, she was too good for that, her heart too kind. And Vex, he knew what it was like to watch a sibling die. Keyleth, too, his love, shouldn’t be there for that. The knowledge would be painful enough. Percy was completely naked and sopping wet from head to toe, it would just be weird if he stayed. Vax resolved to send them all away. He tried to read the fey, sense if he had strangled anyone before, but the man’s expression gave nothing away.  
“Alright,” he started, rejoining the conversation. “With a couple of provisions here.” Grog was laughing again, and Vax was tempted to try to find another moment to shave his beard. He was enjoying this far too much. But he couldn’t keep a smile off of his own face, a helpless reaction to the ridiculous situation he’d gotten himself into. “Alright. One- you cannot say shit while you’re doing this.”  
“He’s not allowed to talk?” his sister Vex clarified.   
“That is correct.” Vax said. That would have been an unfortunate loophole for Artagan to manipulate, chatting away as Vax choked, only avoiding the word “shit.”   
“Fair enough,” agreed Artagan, a playful confidence woven through his words. “I think it would spoil the moment anyway.”   
“Two, and this includes the rest of you lot,” Vax continued firmly, very aware of the silence that had settled on the group as they watched him. “Everybody leaves except for Scanlan and Grog. And they stay.” He heard a couple gasps, but kept his attention focused on Artagan.   
“What, what, what?” Keyleth sputtered.  
“No, I’m alright with that,” Percy stated simply.  
“I don’t want to see it,” Vex admitted.   
“I think that’s a fair request,” Grog said, unable to contain the glee in his voice, now that he had overcome his initial confusion.   
“Can I pleasure myself?” Scanlan asked, breaking the tension as he always so expertly did. Percy whacked him on the head.   
“Do as you like, my friend,” Artagan answered, clearly amused.   
“You’ll come back, right?” Vex asked. Vax gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Just then, Keyleth pulled him aside.   
“Are you… are you okay with- are you sure about this? Are you okay?” There might have been a time where the shadows in his heart pushed him to seek this kind of… thrill? Punishment? But now, with the Raven Queen’s blessing, he knew nothing could touch him. Vax met her eyes, reassuring her that it was indeed his will, and he understood and accepted her concern.   
“I’ll see you soon,” he promised.   
“We- we could ask him if he wants something else, you know?”  
“Ask him.” Vax waited for her to try, but they both knew. “I don’t think he does.” Still, she could not let go of the fear.  
“And… and, you’ll be back, yeah?”  
“...Probably.”   
“Twenty four hours, or so?”  
“I’ll be back,” he promised. Truthfully, he couldn’t tell her much else. He wasn’t sure exactly how it worked. But he was confident it would. And he had to ease her worries.   
“Well how do we know for sure?” Pike interrupted, and the moment was gone.   
“Guys, go,” Vax commanded, steeling his nerves. “Go on.”  
“We have no choice, Pike,” Scanlan called, trying to justify their decision.  
“Skedaddle,” Grog rumbled, still excited. “We’ll keep an eye, we got the rule of law.”   
“Do you want to stay too, Pikey?” Scanlan asked. If his love was interested, he wanted to extend the invitation.  
“I’m not going to stay if he doesn’t want me to stay.” The cleric, while concerned, knew she would respect Vax’s wishes.  
“Percy,” Vax called softly. But the human sensed his intent. “Take Keyleth out of here, please.” Not only did he not want them to see, but he knew if he saw their faces, he wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Couldn’t bear to cause them pain. This was necessary, it was only business. He would be alright.  
“Absolutely,” Percy answered, grabbing Keyleth by the arm and guiding her away.   
“No, wait- wait!” Keyleth called, desperately reaching for Vax. She was able to grab the sides of his face, searching his eyes for any doubt, but Vax held firm. She gave him a quick kiss before Percy gently turned her away. It only took a moment for Percy to put trees between them as they walked back towards the pools.   
Grog turned towards Vax then, his huge form bent slightly as he looked down at the half elf. “Vax, I want you to know I’ve never been more proud of you than I am right now.”  
Vax looked up, meeting his gaze. “I want you to laugh your fucking ass off, alright?” If at least some of them could find some humor in the moment, perhaps it wouldn’t feel so gruesome.   
“I mean, I might, I’m just saying.” Grog grinned, a fearsome, satisfied, and proud, expression settling across his features. “You’re about to buy the ticket and take the ride of a literal fucking lifetime.” The smile then left, as Grog managed to form a look of actual concern. One of his huge hands closed around Vax’s shoulder. “How do you feel? Are you nervous?”  
Vax ignored the question, shifting his gaze to Scanlan instead, who stood several feet shorter than him. “You keep an eye,” he instructed. “Have him drag me somewhere safe,” he pointed at Grog. “And keep an eye on me. Alright?” He didn’t trust this place, the feywild. It left too much up to chance. At least here, with the people he trusted, he got a semblance of control out of the situation.   
“Sure,” Scanlan nodded.   
Grog’s hand released his shoulder and came to rest on Vax’s chest, where his heart continued its eerily slow rhythm beneath his armor. “Do you want us to hold anything? Do you want to take off your clothes--”  
“Lets stop talking,” Vax cut him off. He tapped his sister on the arm, who was nervously fidgeting with a feather between her fingers. “Could you go look after Keyleth, please?” He needed her to go, but this would at least give her an excuse, though they both knew each other well enough to know it wasn’t the real reason.   
“Of course…” Vex started quietly. Then, more firmly, with feigned confidence. “See you in a bit.”   
“Don’t you do anything else!” Pike warned, jabbing a finger in the archfey’s direction. “Y- you just strangle him till he dies!”  
Artagan, who had been silent for a while, put on his most innocent frown, raising his hands in defeat. Scanlan laughed, unable to contain himself with the absurdity of the statement.  
“I wouldn’t dream of trying, little one!” Artagan called as Pike left. “Don’t worry.”  
“Artagan?” Vex turned to Artagan as well, leaving him with one last parting comment. “This is weird as fuck.”  
He grinned, leaning in towards her, his fiery hair falling over his shoulders. “Welcome to my world.” Unsettled, Vex stepped back, watching him for a moment, and then slowly walked away.   
Over at the pools, those who had been sent away came to an unspoken agreement, stripping out of their armor and finding an unsatisfactory comfort in the waters, as if swimming would wash away the horror of what was happening beyond the trees.  
“Oh my god,” Keyleth groaned. “We’ve made a lot of bad decisions.”   
They settled into an uncomfortable silence, the only sound the water rippling as they moved through it.  
Back in the woods, Vax was double checking the rules of their arrangement. “Hey, uh… Grog?”  
“Yeah, brother.”  
“All he gets to do is strangle me to death, that’s it.”  
“Alright.”  
There was a slight pause, and then Grog, because he was Grog, kept going.  
“What, what about after you’re… dead? “  
Of course. Vax suppressed a chuckle, uncomfortable. “No, you-- mmm.” He groaned, frustrated. Maybe he hadn’t picked the right people to stay.   
“No touch? No pickle?” Grog was asking.  
“No,neither Artagan, nor Scanlan, are able to do anything to me once I’m out.” He glanced between the two, daring them to challenge him.   
It finally clicked for Grog. “Oh. Oh, oh oh oh okay.”   
“Alright?”  
“Yeah. Right.”  
Now Vax looked to Scanlan again. “And then, just make sure he doesn’t lose me in the woods or something, okay?” It was all about control. If he was going to be a defenseless corpse, he didn’t want to wake up to find out he’d been part of more horror stories than planned.   
“You’ll be fine,” Scanlan said, with surprising gentleness. “This… this will be harrowing for you, but you’ll be fine. We’ll bring you back.” His usual humor gone, Scanlan’s words were filled with sincerity, and it gave Vax some small comfort knowing his friends were going to be looking after him, no matter what happened. Harrowing. Well, he had that to look forward to.  
“It’s been so much fun ‘till now,” Vax admitted.   
“This is a sacrifice,” Scanlan told him.  
“Everything in your life has been leading up to this point. I mean, this is the pinnacle,” exclaimed Grog. Vax sighed, exasperated. “This is great,” Grog continued. Vax had enough.  
“Don’t speak,” he told Grog. He shakes his head slightly. Takes a breath. The two smallest and largest of the party are here with him. The boundaries were set, preparations finished. He had no more excuses, no further reason to stall. Vax walked up to Artagan.   
“Alright fucknut, let’s just do this.”   
Artagan’s eyebrows rose, impressed. “You believe this? You really believe you’re going to come back if you die?”  
Vax stares at him for a moment, considering. How does he put into words his faith in the Raven Queen? The absolute certainty that he will come back, and that someday, he will leave again, hers, forever. There aren’t words for it. Instead, he gives Artagan a cocky salute, a click of the tongue.  
Artagan watches him for a moment, that huge, unsettling grin still spread across his face. Again, he has eyes only for Vax. He feels like the fey is testing his resolve, but he doesn’t move.  
“Fair play,” Artagan says, stretching his hands with interlocked fingers. The knuckles crack ominously. “To the immortals.” It sounds like a toast.   
With blinding speed, Artagan’s hands shoot forwards, locking around Vax’s throat. He barely has time to blink before the fingers are squeezing his neck. Vax can’t help but feel a little surprise, but he doesn’t flinch. Artagan’s gaze is locked unwaveringly on his own, and Vax meets it steadily.   
Vax senses Grog step up behind him, sees the large arms out of the corner of his eyes hovering at his sides. But he doesn’t move, doesn’t try to defend himself. There is no fear, and without it, his survival instincts are gone.   
True to his word, and his side of the deal, Artagan makes no sound as he gleefully applies more and more pressure to Vax’s neck. Vax, on the other hand, lets out quiet, choking gasps, as the air trapped in his lungs tried to escape. Scanlan, more put out by the display than he’d anticipated, turned away, but Vax could still feel Grog’s eyes burning holes in his back. He only acknowledged the pair in front of him, bright, intense, unwavering. And that unending smile.   
His chest heaved, an automatic response as his body fought to breathe. But he did not try to escape Artagan’s grasp. The pain, however, was becoming intense. His lungs were on fire, and the pressure in his head kept building. He wondered for a moment, a brief moment, if he was making a mistake. Artagan watched it all.  
Fortunately, after a few moments, Vax’s vision started to fade. Artagan’s grip was surprisingly strong, cutting off almost all the blood flowing to his brain. As his body numbed and the world grew dim, the darkness rushed up to meet him. A familiar sensation rushed over him as he, once again, found the boundary between life and death. Vax twitched once more and grew still.   
As the half elf fell to unconsciousness, the body sagged in Artagan’s grasp. It did not lower though, as the fey held the body firmly in the air, suspended by the neck. Realizing now that he had succeeded, Artagan let one of his hands drop, the other still keeping the body in place, as he considered the limp form before him.  
“Hm.” he said simply. “Satisfying but… not what I thought it would be.” Grog grunted his agreement. They watched for a moment more, before Vax’s body suddenly darkened, shifting and burning to ashes that were caught by the air and spread until nothing was left. His armor crumpled to the ground, empty. 

Back at the pools, the remaining members of Vox Machina swam in an awkward silence, tension hanging over them all. Keyleth and Vex shared a glance across the water, but neither of them had anything to say. Vax had agreed, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt.   
Pike, growing restless, tried to poke her head up high enough to see what was happening past the undergrowth, but Percy quickly caught on to her intentions and pulled her back down to the pool. He knew it wasn’t about Vax being alone, but sparing the rest of them from the memory of what was happening to him.   
Suddenly, all of their pendants illuminated red, an urgent warning, a stark reminder cutting across the gentle surface of the pools. None of them spoke, they knew what it meant. Vax was dead. They couldn’t meet each other’s eyes. 

Scanlan sees the movement and turns back. Vax is gone.   
“Oooooh god. Okay.” Grog is at a loss for words.  
“What? What?” Scanlan has no idea what just happened, but Vax is gone. They were supposed to watch over him, and he’s gone. Grog looks at him, equally surprised and confused.  
“Were we expecting him…?” he points down at the pile of black armor, a question on his tongue.  
“No, not at all! What the fuck is this?”  
“I’m… gonna grab the armor, if you don’t mind?” Grog was stooping down, ready to pick up the pieces, a wary eye on Artagan.   
“Of course, it’s yours,” he gestures grandly, ever in control. Scanlan scurries over, helping Grog wrangle the various bits of equipment now lying abandoned on the forest floor.   
Confused, panicking, the two carry the armor further into the woods and lay it out, forming a circle of stones around the pile as if a semblance of ritual could call his spirit back. After a moment of staring at the unmoving leather, Grog speaks up.  
“I kinda wanted to like, you know like, shave half of his head cause he shaved my beard that one time? But there’s really nothing left of him, right now.”  
“I don’t think that that would be a good time… to do this...” Scanlan cautioned. They had promised to take care of him until he revived.  
The two men waited a few moments more, just in case anything happened, but realizing that Vax would probably be gone for some time, gathered his things to return to the rest of the group at the pools. The future was shrouded in uncertainty, and for now, all they could do was wait, and trust that their friend would return to them.


End file.
